Wow!

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 5, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

It doesn’t happen very often in this modern life, but occasionally something takes place that just makes words redundant.  Day Eight of London 2012, in particular the evening session in the Stadium, was one such circumstance.   It was billed as Super Saturday and, for once, that billing was an understatement.  In all seven medals, six of them Gold, were won by Team GB – three of those Golds coming late in the day, in less than an hour of the most sensational session of athletics this country has ever experienced.

Special Delivery from the Poster Girl

It was one of those “do you remember where you were…” moments.  In the years to come, countless millions will, no doubt, claim they were there on the night and, with the miracles of HDTV and surround sound, in a way we all were.  Continue Reading

‘Failure’ IS an option

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 4, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , .

Day Seven and the floodgates have begun to open for Team GB success.  No less than seven more medals, three of them Gold, two of which came in the Velodrome in the Team Pursuit and the Womens’ Keirin.  The other was probably the most popular so far – for Katherine Grainger, three times silver medallist in the womens’ double sculls, but now with her team-mate Anna Watson an owner of the top accolade.  The other four were all Bronzes, two at Eton Dorney, another at the Judo, and the final one of the day in the pool for Rebecca Adlington in the 800m Freestyle, her second of the games.

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watson celebrate winning Gold

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Come the Revolution

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 3, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Day Six of the Games marked a distinct upward tick in success for Team GB, with the medal haul now double what it was at the same stage in Beijing, primarily due to our Nation’s prowess in what Michael Johnson, the  BBC’s charming American ex-400 metre Champion, terms the “sitting-down sports.”

Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott paddle to Gold in the C2

There was a Silver in the Lightweight Fours at the Rowing, Gold and Silver in the C2 Canoe Slalom, Silver in Judo, Gold in the Trap-Shooting and Gold, plus a new World Record, in the Men’s Team Sprint at the Cycling, a fifth Gold Medal in cycling for Sir Chris Hoy matching Sir Steve Redgrave’s rowing tally to make them now jointly Britain’s most successful Olympians. Continue Reading

Now I know how The Beatles felt

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 2, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , .

There was a noticeable slackening in media angst on Day Five of the Games as Team GB delivered a total of five medals including Gold twice.  The first was awarded to Olympic Rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the women’s pairs.  This was the first time Britain had ever won a ladies’ rowing gold, an achievement made all the more remarkable by Helen Glover having never even sat in a rowboat until 2008.

A perfect seat for the winner of the Time Trial

On any other day, their win would have hogged the headlines, but this was no ordinary day.  This was the day that hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Surrey, many of them sporting stick-on sideburns, to celebrate the latest national craze – Wiggomania.

Hampton Court has witnessed coronations over hundreds of years, but never one quite like that accorded to Bradley Wiggins yesterday. Britain loves its heroes, especially when they are somewhat understated, so we were probably slightly in denial when Bradley’s triumphant homecoming after capturing the pride of France ten days ago was put on hold for a few days through the imminent commencement of the Olympics, and his highly-anticipated starring role.   Again, there was a typically-English further postponement due to Johnny-Foreigner’s lack of co-operation in the Road Race on Saturday.   But once the responsibility for delivering the goods was placed solely on those individual shoulders, there was no hiding place for inevitability. Continue Reading

Testing for Dopes

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 1, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Day Four and another success for Team GB as the Eventing Team held on to their overnight position to take a well-deserved Silver Medal.   I hope that their Royal team member can avoid some of the headlines, particularly the ones in the Daily Mail which suggest that she lost the team the Gold Medal through her making one crucial error.  Technically, of course, the error was made by her horse, and it was hardly crucial when there were four other team members who also made small individual mistakes during the four days of the contest; that’s why it was called a ‘team event’.

USA’s Michael Phelps en route yesterday to becoming the most successful Olympian ever, when he won his 15th Gold for swimming, his 19th Medal overall.

One expects uninformed commentary from tabloids, particularly around sports that are not mainstream, but this has to be one of the dopiest in the long and undistinguished history of that particular rag.  So how do you pass a dope test?  Well first you need to sound like one – a good check there is to ensure that your brain is not fully-engaged before opening your mouth.  Then you need to make sure that you’re talking to a reporter with an agenda.  Most of all, you need to make sure that reporter is a member of the news arm of the BBC, and particularly one with a reputation to make within a two-week window of opportunity.

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